


In light of tragedy

by sunnflowers



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Grief/Mourning, The 2016 Orlando Shooting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-13
Updated: 2016-06-13
Packaged: 2018-07-14 18:41:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7185581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunnflowers/pseuds/sunnflowers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I have been meaning to update my other stories, but this was all I could write today.</p>
    </blockquote>





	In light of tragedy

**Author's Note:**

> I have been meaning to update my other stories, but this was all I could write today.

It was late. Steven was already in bed, Lapis sitting at the foot of his bed, watching over the boy. The day had been long and everyone was upset. Lapis found she didn’t have much to say on the subject, but she did feel the profound sadness that had blanketed her new family. She knew loss, but she could only imagine what it felt like for Steven. He didn’t know them, but he felt the loss still. When the day was over, when they had finally turned off the news, he had wished everyone goodnight and silently crawled into bed. He said he didn’t want to talk about it anymore right now. He just wanted to go to sleep. 

Lapis had always been impressed by the young boy’s capacity for love. She marveled at his compassion and forgiving nature. But she found his inexperience with hatred, with brutality, with senselessness confusing. She had never met someone like this, and she wanted to preserve that within him. She sat at the foot of the bed and watched as he slept. She would find a way, even though she wasn’t sure how. 

\---

Garnet paced the inside of the temple. She had wandered away from the others early that evening to be alone. The idea was far too familiar to her, but sad none the less. So many humans, many of them so young, taken from their friends, their families, their lives, and why? Because of how they looked? Because of who they loved? Because of where they chose to dance that night? Garnet slowly exhaled as her form dissipated. Ruby and Sapphire were left standing together, Ruby’s eyes raw, Sapphire’s sleeve wet with tears. They knew the others would need Garnet. They would need their leader, their support, but right now, they were too heartbroken to be the team’s rock. Sapphire assured Ruby that everyone was alright without them. So they sat together, mourning the loss of precious human life, mourning their idealized version of peace on this planet, mourning the piece of themselves they felt died when one decided to let everyone know just how unsafe it is to be different. 

\---

Jasper sat quietly, staring off into the distance. These weren’t her people; these weren’t her friends. She had plenty of experience with loss, with violence, with tragedy, but this, this went beyond her code. She lived in world where violence was a reality, but it was never senseless or unbridled. Fighting was inevitable, but it was done with honor. She couldn’t imagine the idea of taking out unarmed civilians with no purpose, no warning. She felt Pearl stir next to her and she gently pulled the smaller gem closer. 

Pearl had done an impressive job of holding it together while Steven had been awake. But now, the tall gem was curled up beside Jasper, her arms wrapped tightly around Amethyst. Tears streamed down her face in a way that made it clear this wasn’t the first time she had mourned a tragic loss. She thought about her half-human charge, she thought about her student Connie. What kind of world were they growing up in? She thought about how similar it seemed to homeworld; everyone had a purpose, a function, an expected behavior. If you were to deviate from that behavior, you were endangering yourself. But didn’t they fight for earth (at least partially) to protect the right to define your own behavior? Isn’t this why the crystal gems fought homeworld? Why was it happening again?

Amethyst pulled Pearl’s arms around her more tightly. She didn’t cry, but sadness was welling in her heart. She considered herself an expert on anger. It was an emotion she felt far more often than she probably should, but it was part of her. She had plenty to be angry about, she had been abandoned, she had been forgotten, she had been denied her biological home, and as a non-native, she felt rejected by her adopted home. But no matter how much anger she carried, it would never justify these types of things happening. It stirred in her deep feelings of uncertainty and doubt. She glanced in Jasper’s direction and watched the orange gem stare off into the distance. She seemed to notice Amethyst’s look and reached over slowly, reassuringly patting the small quartz’ head. 

Amethyst looked up at Peridot, who sat facing them quietly. The green gem had been uncharacteristically quite for most of the day. She was trying to understand, trying to grasp what was happening to the people of this planet and why it was influencing the gems in such a way. After a while, the young gem gave Jasper a deeply inquisitive yet confused look. Jasper sighed, closing her eyes tightly before she spoke. 

“You really like that Camp Pining Hearts show don’t you, Peridot?” The green gem just tilted her head, staring in confusion at such an unrelated comment. “You believe Percy and Pierre to be the best. You believe they should be a team, right?” Peridot was astounded Jasper had been listening during all her rambling. She nodded, wondering where this was going. “Today was the same as someone deciding they didn’t like Percy and Pierre together. They were so upset, they decided to make a statement to everyone who believe a Percy/Pierre team was great.” Jasper slowly ran her hand over Pearl’s back as the tall gem began to sob. “They found a group of Percy/Pierre supporters,” the orange gem looked down at her lap, “and they killed them.” 

Peridot’s eyes were wide. She observed the expression of each of the gems in front of her. Pearl was crying into Amethyst’s shoulder, while the purple gem sat looking heartbroken. Jasper looked lost, like she had been uprooted and placed into an unknown situation. Peridot could see the orange gem’s hand resting on Pearl’s back, trying her best to comfort her. Peridot herself was silent for a while. She was trying to understand why someone would do something like that. She was grateful for Jasper’s metaphor, but it only left her with more questions. She could tell her friends weren’t able to provide answers though. So they sat, waiting to feel like they had spent an appropriate amount of time grieving the loss of lives they had never known, trying to sort out the feeling uprooted by the tragic event, and looking for a way to be there for each other as they moved forward with life.


End file.
